Live Music

Live Music

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum hosts live music throughout the year, including its regular Songwriter Sessions and Musician Spotlights and stylistically varied performances in its 800-seat CMA Theater. The Museum's unparalleled collection of historically and culturally unique resources includes classic and current country music film and TV performances and more, ranging from the 1920s to the present.

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Live Music
  • Rosanne Cash and John Leventhal • Conversation and Performance • 2023

    Grammy-winning musicians Rosanne Cash and John Leventhal share stories of their creative collaborations throughout their thirty years together and discuss their record label, RumbleStrip Records. This live interview and performance was presented in partnership with the Americana Music Association...

  • Concert and Conversation: Terry Allen (On Everything) • 2024

    For six decades, recording artist, songwriter, and visual artist Terry Allen has been sharing his various forms of conceptual art. This program, recorded on July 20, 2024, and hosted by the Museum’s RJ Smith, digs into Allen’s career and discusses and showcases multiple works.

    Allen and musician...

  • CMT’s Next Women of Country • Concert and Conversation • 2024

    : Recording artist, songwriter, and CMT Next Women of Country mentor Kimberly Perry hosts this showcase and discussion featuring CMT Next Women of Country acts Tanner Adell, Mae Estes, Kylie Frey, Emily Ann Roberts, and Tigirlily Gold. This program was recorded on June 7, 2024, during CMA Fest 20...

  • Conversation and Performance: Prine Time Chicago • 2023

    The city of Chicago, Illinois, has supported a diverse arts and entertainment landscape, including singer-songwriter John Prine. Recorded on October 8, 2023, during the annual “You Got Gold: Celebrating the Life and Songs of John Prine” event, this program shares the impact Chicago had on Prine’s...

  • From Where I Stand: The Concert Celebration

    To coincide with Black Music Month, the Museum and co-producers Rissi Palmer and Shannon Sanders organized a multi-artist concert celebrating the many ways Black Americans have created, contributed to, and been influenced by country music, as documented and shared through the Museum’s multi-facet...

  • Songwriter Session • Carter Faith • 2024

    North Carolina native Carter Faith performs songs she’s written, answers questions, and shares stories from her songwriting career during this Songwriter Session, recorded on February 10, 2024. Faith has co-written songs with Tofer Brown, Kat Higgins, Lauren Hungate, Lori McKenna, Ashley Monroe, ...

  • Musician Spotlight • Mark Fain • 2024

    East Tennessee native, bassist, and producer Mark Fain performs songs and shares stories from his career during this Musician Spotlight program, recorded on April 14, 2024. He is accompanied by Brent Rader on keys and John Leventhal on guitar.

    During this program, seven-time Grammy-winner Fain a...

  • Meet the Eric Church Band • 2024

    Many of the same musicians have backed Eric Church, both on his albums and during live performances, since he got his start as a signed artist. In this program, Church’s current band—Jeff Cease, Lee Hendricks, Jeff Hyde, Billy Justineau, Driver Williams, and Craig Wright—discusses working with Ch...

  • Altan and Jerry Douglas • Celtic and Country Music Connections • 2024

    Masters of traditional Irish folk music Altan and world-renowned dobroist Jerry Douglas bring together their deep collective knowledge of Celtic musical traditions for an insightful conversation and powerful musical performance. This program, which took place in the museum’s Ford Theater, was rec...

  • Kelsey Waldon • Songwriter Session • 2024

    Recording artist and songwriter Kelsey Waldon performs songs she has written and recorded and shares the stories behind them as part of the Museum’s Songwriter Session series. This program was recorded on March 2, 2024, in support of the Museum’s exhibition “American Currents: State of the Music....

  • Mark Miller & Mac McAnally • Songwriter Session • 2024

  • Musician Spotlight • C. J. Lewandowski • 2024

    Mandolin player C. J. Lewandowski performs songs and shares stories from his career as part of the Museum’s weekly Musician Spotlight series. This program, recorded on March 3, 2024, was presented in support of the 2024 edition of the Museum’s exhibition “American Currents: State of the Music,” w...

  • Ashley Cooke • Songwriter Session • 2024

    Recording artist and songwriter Ashley Cooke performs songs she’s written and recorded and shares the stories behind them as part of the Museum’s Songwriter Session series. This program was recorded on March 23, 2024.

    Accompanied by guitarist Chauncey Arner, Cooke performs songs included on her ...

  • Gabe Lee • Songwriter Session • 2024

    Singer-songwriter Gabe Lee performs his original songs on acoustic guitar and piano. During the program, recorded on February 24, 2024, he discusses his experiences growing up in Nashville, telling stories, and making music.

    During the program, Lee performs “Rusty,” from his album The Hometown K...

  • Pat Alger and the Entrepreneur Latina Leaders of America Songwriters

    During this songwriter round, recorded on March 16, 2024, Marta Albarracin, Brenda Coulter, Marcela Pinilla Eicher, Rachel Rodriguez, and Rosa Rodriguez perform original songs with hit songwriter and mentor Pat Alger and share the stories behind them.

    In 2021, Alger became a mentor with the Tenn...

  • Interview and Performance: A Celebration of Merle Travis

    Deke Dickerson discusses his book “Sixteen Tons: The Merle Travis Story,” which paints a vivid and unvarnished portrait of the guitar innovator, hit songwriter, and member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. Joining him to share music and memories are master guitarists Tommy Emmanuel and Eddie Pen...

  • Where the Action Is • Americana Artists and Activism • 2023

    During this conversation and performance moderated by music journalist Jewly Hight, Americana artists Adeem the Artist, Mya Byrne, Autumn Nicholas, and Allison Russell perform and discuss how they use their platforms as songwriters and musical artists to affect change. This program was recorded o...

  • William Prince • Songwriter Session • 2023

    Hailing from Manitoba, Canada, singer-songwriter William Prince shares songs he’s written and the stories behind them during 2023’s AmericanaFest. His performance was recorded on September 23, 2023, and presented in partnership with the Americana Music Association.

    William Prince has released fo...

  • Hank’s 100th: A Concert in Celebration of Hank Williams, presented by Spotify

    In honor of influential country recording artist and songwriter Hank Williams and marking the 100th anniversary of his birth, “Hank’s 100th: A Concert in Celebration of Hank Williams” showcases a wide variety of country and Americana artists influenced by Williams’s music. The show’s cast include...

  • The Black Country Music Association and the Black Opry • 2023

    Black Opry founder Holly G and her co-director, Tanner Davenport, along with Frankie Staton—who led the Black Country Music Association from the mid-1990s into the early 2000s—discuss their organizations’ histories and impact, as well as their future goals for representation and expanding diversi...

  • Conversation with Rhiannon Giddens • 2023

    Grammy-winning singer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Rhiannon Giddens joins the Museum’s Patrick Huber to discuss her musical career, which often explores Black musicians’ contributions to country music and other American roots-music traditions. This event—a live conversation and performanc...

  • Patty Loveless • Interview and Performance • 2023

    Country Music Hall of Fame member-elect Patty Loveless sits down for an interview to discuss her decades-long music career, and she performs a few of her favorite songs. This live performance was recorded on August 26, 2023, and offered in support of the Museum’s exhibition “Patty Loveless: No Tr...

  • Songs of Eric Church • Luke Laird and Jeremy Spillman • 2023

    Songwriters Luke Laird and Jeremy Spillman share songs they have written with Eric Church and the stories behind them. This live performance was recorded on July 15, 2023, and offered in support of the exhibition “Eric Church: Country Heart, Restless Soul,” presented by Gibson.

    During the progr...

  • David Hood • Nashville Cats • 2023

    Renowned bassist David Hood shares stories from his life and career as part of the Museum's “Nashville Cats” series, which spotlights musicians who have made significant contributions to country music. This program was recorded on July 8, 2023.

    In this interview, led by the Museum’s Michael Gray...